Banks for some time have provided certain customers with special deposit bags which are used to make deposits after normal banking hours. Each bag has a lockable closure member (typically a lockable zipper). The customer is also provided with a key which will open only the lock on his particular bag. The bank retains a master key or keys so that it may open the locks on the bags of all or most of its customers. Each bag is identified with a number unique to the particular customer to whom the bag is allocated by the bank.
The customer may place cash, receipts, etc. in its bag, lock the bag and place the locked bag in the bank's night deposit vault. Eventually, the bank employees open the vault, remove and empty the bags, which are then left in a pile. To retrieve his bag, a customer must usually wait while a bank employee sorts through a pile of empty bags for the bag belonging to that particular customer.
Racks for lockably storing and organizing bank deposit bags so that customers may retrieve their own (and only their own) bags after the bank employees have emptied the bags are known. Referring now to FIG. 1, such a rack 18 and bank deposit bag 10 is shown. The bank deposit bag 10 has an access opening 11 and a zipper 12. The zipper 12 has an open position permitting access to the contents of the bag 10 and a closed position (as shown in FIG. 1) wherein the zipper 12 closes the access opening 11.
The bank deposit bag 10 further includes a keeper lock 14 which can be locked to securely close the bank deposit bag. That is, the keeper lock 14 can lock or secure (as shown in FIG. 1) the zipper 12 in the closed position. The keeper lock 14 defines a readily accessible closed through aperture 16 in its locked position. When the keeper lock 14 is unlocked, the closed through aperture 16 is open (not shown).
The support rack 18 includes a base 20 which defines a bank deposit bag 10 receiving area, where the bag 10 can be placed with the keeper lock 14 in its locked position. A static rod member 22 is positioned on the support rack 18 and is sized to fit within and through the closed through aperture 16 when the keeper lock 14 is in the locked position.
In use, the bank deposit bag 10 is placed on the support rack 18 and the keeper lock 14 is moved into its locked position, with the rod member 22 positioned in the closed through aperture 16, so that the bag 10 is securely held to the support rack 18. The bank deposit bag 10 can be removed from the support rack 18 by unlocking the keeper lock 14 and moving the bank deposit bag 10 out of engagement with the rod member 22, after which the bank deposit bag 10 can be removed from the support rack 18.
The support rack 18 has disadvantages in that it cannot be used with all styles of bank deposit bags. Specifically, some bank deposit bags include a cover member positioned on the bag such that it overlaps the closed through aperture of the keeper lock. In other bank deposit bags, the cover member is the canvas material which comprises the majority of the bag. In these bags, the canvas material extends and overlaps the closed through aperture. Such bags cannot be used in connection with the support rack 18 depicted in FIG. 1 because the rod member 22 cannot access the closed through aperture 16, since the cover member overlaps the aperture 16. Consequently, a need has arisen for a securing system which can accommodate a variety of differently designed bank deposit bags.
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages in the above-described support rack by providing a flexible, endless cable securely positioned on the support rack. The cable is positionable within the closed through aperture between the keeper lock and the cover member for securing the bank deposit bag to the support rack. In fact, the cable can be positioned within the aperture of the keeper lock of any style lockable container to create a so-called one-size-fits-all system. Therefore, the present invention efficiently overcomes the problems of the prior art without incurring the prohibitive costs of redesigning the current bank deposit bags to fit existing support racks.